Interactive tools and print collateral that promote advocacy, agency, and engagement for artists in the Greater Pittsburgh Area.
The Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council (GPAC) is a local arts agency dedicated to serving artists and enhancing the presence of the arts in Southwestern Pennsylvania. In collaboration with GPAC, they gave us the following problem statement to jumpstart our project:
I collaborated with my team on ideating (ex. affinity diagramming, crazy 8s, reversed assumptions), conducting user testing (ex. interviews, speed-dating), and refining our concepts from our low-fi to final solution based on feedback from GPAC and testing results. For our solution, I took ownership over the design system mainly used for our networking bingo and infographic cards along with creating the data visualization and graphics on each card. I also had ownership over the infographic’s testing protocols.
Distributing information that’s relevant and action-driven to artists.
Initiating conversations and fostering community with icebreakers.
Giving direct contact to policymakers to share their experiences/concerns.
Sharing and inspiring artists’ stories about advocacy.
We conducted 10 semi-structured interviews with Pittsburgh artists. Each interview session was followed by a quick evaluation of GPAC’s technical community survey report on its purpose and usefulness.
An expert interview with Morgan Kasprowicz, the Director of Research and Cultural Policy from GPAC, and a literature review were also conducted to garner insight on potential solutions, our problem space, and GPAC membership data.
While brainstorming, we saw that some proposed solutions served similar purposes to each other and we prioritized the time and effort it took for each activity given the nature of socializing events. We decided to move forward with a networking bingo, a condensed infographic, a collage board, and legislation postcards since it addressed our findings of delivering accessible info, increasing engagement/sense of community, and showing artist impact.
I conducted two rounds of testing with a variety low-fidelity prototypes of the cards to see which visuals were most effective:
Round 1: Speed-dating with students
Round 2: Observational studies at GPAC’s Creative Hive Event-- a networking event for PA artists
1. Delivery of cards/activities should be more direct -> Location of each activity affects engagement
2. Visual coherence is important to facilitate interest
3. Focus on uniformity and order is essential for readability
For the visual design, I wanted our project to feel friendly and eye-catching to artists. The usage of primary colors and bold type add an artistic and energetic feel that still maintains readability. Fun, simple graphics create visual interest without intruding on the main visuals.
To implement our solution, a set of customizable networking bingo sheets were sent to GPAC along with the digital files of our infographic cards. Instructions were given on how to format, place, and distribute the infographics, bingo, postcards, and collage board for future events.
Based on the survey responses from the Creative Hive event, I think that participant interest could be increased by having the infographic cards tie in with the other activities such as the collage boards or networking bingo. Our team also decided to list different alternatives to displaying our solution for events so it’s more cohesive and visible for attendees to notice.Overall, it was really rewarding to see how the project developed over time and see our final product in action at the networking event!